Loading machine



BEST AVAILABLE C6 5? NOV. 8,1938. 5 -rung; 2,135,882

LOADING MACHINE Filed Nov. 21. 1955 3 Sheets-She t l F. CARTLIDGE LOADING MACHINE- Filed Nov. 21, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet g Nov; 8, 1938.

F. CARTLIDGE OADING MACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 1955 s Sheets-sheet s Patented Nov. 8, 1938 PATENT OFFICE LOADING MACHINE Frank Cartliclge, Chicago, 111., assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a

corporation of Illinois Application November 21, 1935, Serial No. 50,861

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in loading machines of the type adapted to gather and load loose material such as coal from the ground, and more particularly to the gathering element for initially picking up the loose material and moving it onto a conveyer for discharge into cars or the like.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a gathering element of the character described, especially designed to handle material such as coal in a more efiicient manner than formerly.

In carrying out my invention, I utilize the same general principle of clearing the gathering means from material on the conveyer at the upward turning point, as is disclosed in the Shanaberger Patent No. 1,680,695, and in a prior application, Serial No. 48,189, filed November 4, 1935, but improve upon the means for raising the gathering arms above the conveyer as they move therealong by eliminating the possibility of trapping coal between the arms and the raising means and by arranging said means so that the gathering means will carry a minimum amount of coal beyond the conveyer as it turns away therefrom.

My invention may be more clearly understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a loading machine of the track-mounted type, illustrating one form in which my invention may be embodied;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the gathering and loading element shown in Figure 1, with certain parts broken away and shown in 35 vertical section in order to more clearly illustrate certain details of my invention;

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the loading element of the machine shown in Figure l, with certain parts broken away and shown in section in order to illustrate certain details of my invention, not shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially along line l4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially along line 66 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line l'l of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged side elevation showing a modified arrangement of the apron between the gathering means.

In the drawings, my invention is shown as being embodied in a loading machine of the trackmounted type, the main elements of which are essentially the same as shown inmy prior application, Serial No. 682,248, filed July 26, 1933, which. issued as Patent No. 2,066,137 on December 29, 1936. In the form shown, the loading machine consists generally of a wheeled truck or main frame [0 having a horizontally and vertical- 1y swingable gathering and loading element H mounted at the forward end thereof and extending forwardly therefrom, and a discharge conveyer l2 extending from beneath the rear end of said loading element and upwardly and rearwardly therefrom. Said discharge conveyer is ar ranged to overhang the rearward end of said main frame for discharging material into suitable receiving means, such as mine cars or the like.

The gathering and loading element ll may, as usual, comprise an inclined conveyer frame I4 pivotally supported between transverse trunnion supports l5, l5. Said trunnion supports are disposed at the forward end of said main frame and are pivotally movable with respect thereto about a vertical axis to permit said conveyer frame to swing in a horizontal plane. The mechanism for effecting swinging movement of said trunnion supports and for pivotally swinging said conveyer frame on said trunnion supports is not herein shown or described since it forms no part of my present invention and is fully disclosed in my aforementioned application, Serial No. 682,248, now Patent No 2,060,137.

The inclined conveyer frame 14 includes a trough-like conveyer section l6 and a forward gathering section ll connected thereto in a suittable manner. Said forward gathering section has an apron I8 extending laterally beyond opposite sides of the conveyer trough section and downwardly therefrom in an inclined plane so that the forward end thereof may engage the ground.

A plate l9 forms the bottom of the conveyer section l6. Said plate extends forwardly in an inclined plane which, as herein shown, is substantially parallel with, but below the upper surfaces of the apron [8 at the forward end of said inclined conveyer frame.

The moving parts of the conveyer consist of a pair of parallel-spaced endless chains 20, 20 having material engaging flights 2 I, 2| carried therebetween at suitable intervals. The lower run of said chains extends downwardly beneath the plate l9 over adjustable idler rollers 24, 24 for taking up excessive slack in said chains, under idler rollers 25, 25, and around sprockets 26, 26 on a transversely extending shaft 21 immediately forwardly of the front margin of the plate I9.

From thence said chains move upwardly over said plate on guide rails 28, 28 disposed along opposite sides of said plate.

Immediately in front of the sprockets 26, 26 is a curved plate 29 substantially conforming to the form of the chains 20, 20 as they round said sprockets, and terminating at the delivery edge of said inclined apron, which edge is herein shown as being forwardly of the shaft 21. A bottom plate 32 extends across the bottom of the forward end of said frame, and the forward edge of said apron and said bottom plate are notched adjacent the central portion thereof, as is'indicated by reference character 33, to-eliminate a dead space between said gathering arms in the central portion of said apron in a manner which has been described in a prior application, Serial No. 580,755, filed December 14, 1931-, now Patent No. 2,073,142.

It should herein be noted that the angle of inclination of the bottom plate 32 withrespect to the ground is such'that when the forward end of said apron engages the ground and the floor is relatively level, said bottom plate will be inclined upwardly with respect to the ground. Thus, the under portion of said conveyer frame rearwardly of the forward end-of said apron may clear the ground and said apron may follow an uneven bottom and be more readily wedged under the material it is desired to load.

The gathering means consists of a pair of endless chains 35, 35 orbitally guided in chain guides 36, 36 and having a plurality of gathering arms 31, 37 extending laterally therefrom. Each of said chain guides-is mounted on the apron |8 and extends along opposite-sides'of the conveyer from points disposed forwardly of the forward end thereof in rearward diverging paths, so that said gathering armsmay diverge laterally away from the conveyer as they extend therealong and swing in paths extending forwardly beyond sai apron at their lower turning point.

The drive for each of the endless gathering chains 35, 35 includesa drive sprocket 39 mounted on each end of the shaft 2! outwardly from the sprockets 26, 26'. Each sprocket 39 drives aparallel-spaced sprocket 40 on a transversely extending shaft by means of a drive chain 43. The shaft Al is journaled-at its inner end in a suitable ball bearing 44 mounted in the upper and lower halves of a housing and bearing support member 45. Said housing is secured to the sidesof the conveyer frame I4 andis split in an inclined plane which is herein shown as substantially parallel to the plane of the conveyer, so said chain and sprocket and parts driven therefrom may readily be accessible for inspection or repair. The outer end of said shaft is mounted in a bearing 46 carried in a bearing support member 41 extending across and mounted in the upper half of the housing 45. A bevel pinion 48 is keyed on the shaft 4| outwardly from the sprocket 40 and meshes with and drives a bevel gear 49 keyed on the lower end of an upstanding shaft 50. Said shaft ismounted at one of its ends in the housing on a suitable bearing 5| and is mounted at its opposite end in a bearing 52, which bearing in turn is mounted in an upper portion of the chain guide 36. A sprocket 53 is keyed to said shaft intermediate the bearings 5| and 52 and meshes with the endless chain 35 for driving said chain.

Referring now in particular to the novel means for clearing the gathering arms from material on the inclined conveyer, after the latter has been 'stantially vertical.

deposited thereon, said means includes an arrangement whereby said conveyer is moved faster than said arms, so as to move material away from the arms and also includes an improved means for raising said arms above the conveyer at their outward turning point utilizing the same principles disclosed in the Shanaberger Patent No. 1,680,695. As herein shown, each gathering arm 31 is pivotally connected to the chain 35 by means of a pivotal pin 54 secured at its ends to a pair of spaced lugs 55, 55 extending outwardly from suitable links of said endless chain (see Figures 2 and3). The pivotal axis of said arms, as herein shown, is parallel to the path of travel of the chain 35 to permit the arms to be pivoted up wardly with respect to the apron 6.

Said gathering arms are lifted away from the coal on the conveyer at their upward turning point by means of a cam member 56 extending upwardly along the inner side of each apron from a point disposed adjacent the forwardendof said conveyer. Each cam member has an entering face'disposed adjacent the forward end of the conveyer which is herein shownas being sub- The engaging face of said cam member is inclined downwardly towards the conveyer and gradually decreases with respect to a horizontal-plane as-saidcam member extends along the conveyer for raising the gathering arms to a-maximum as they turn away from the conveyer. Said cam members being inclined towards the conveyer, permit material whichmight fall thereon or be moved thereon by said gathering arms to slide down the inclined surface thereof onto the conveyer.

Each gathering arm 31 is provided with an inwardly disposed engaging end 51 disposed beneath its pivotal axis, which engaging end is herein shown as being formed integral with said arm. Said engaging ends of said arms are adapted to-engage the engaging face of the cam member 56 to cause said arms to gradually rise above the conveyer as they move therealong.

A fiat cam member 59 is provided for support ing each gathering. arm as it turns away from the conveyer and moves downwardly along the outer edge of the apron I8. As herein shown, said flat cam member extends around and conforms to the rearward end of'the chain guide 36 and its rearward portion is formed substantially like the inside of a segment of a truncated cone. As said flat cam member extends downwardly along the outer side of the apron l8, its angle of inclination with respect to said apron decreases forpermitting the arms to gradually pivot downwardly formationformed by said flat cam member.

Suitable means are provided for positively restraining pivotal movement of said gathering arms while traveling downwardly along said apron which operate on a principle somewhat similar to that shown in my prior application, Serial No. 48,189; Said means includes an abutment or shoulder 6| disposed above the pivotal axis of 'said'gatheringarm; which is adapted to engage "7' an upper side of the chain guiding member 36. The lower side of said chain guiding member is adapted to be engaged by the engaging face 51. It should herein be noted that the upper portion of the chain guiding member, disposed adjacent the cam members 56 and 59, is inclined in a manner corresponding to the angles of inclination of said cam members to permit elevation of said gathering arms by means of said cam members.

A direction-changing device '63 having means rotated thereby for positively restraining pivotal movement of said arms at their lower turning point is provided at the forward end of each chain guiding member 36. As herein shown, said direction-changing device is in the form of a sprocket journaled on a suitable bearing member 64 mounted in said chain-guiding member in a usual manner. A rotatable member 65, such as a disk, is disposed beneath said sprocket and rtated thereby and is adapted to be engaged by the engaging surface 57 of each gathering arm. A similar rotatable member 65 is disposed above said sprocket and rotated thereby. Said lastmentioned rotatable member is of a larger diameter than the width of said chain guiding member and is adapted to be engaged by the shoulder 6! of the gathering arms 37, 3?. parent that when the surfaces 51 and 6! are in engagement with the respective disks '65 and 66 that said gathering arms will be held from pivotal movement in an extended position with respect to said chain.

The modified form of my invention shown in Figure 8 differs from the form previously described in that the gathering section has two laterally extending aprons 6?, 67 at opposite sides of the conveyer trough section and in that a channel, generally indicated by reference character 68, is provided between these aprons for mov ing material onto the conveyer. Said channel is formed by a relatively low inclined plate 59, inclined at a lesser angle with respect to the ground than said aprons, which terminates at the curved plate 29 in a plane which is substantially normal to the conveyer as it turns around the sprockets 25, 28. The forward edge of said inclined plate is notched in a manner similar to the apron I 8 and the sides of said plate are joined with said apron in a suitable manner to form a channel having closed sides leading to the conveyer below the upper margins thereof.

Thus, material is continuously moved toward the conveyer along said channel by the gathering arms and the fines collected therein form in effect a cushion for the larger lumpsof material which reduces breakage thereof, as has been previously described in a prior application, Serial No. 49,004, filed November 9, 1935, now Patent No. 2,107,469.

While I have herein shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it will be under stood that the construction and arrangement of the various parts may be altered or changed without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be construed as limiting myself to the specific form illustrated herein, excepting as it may be particularly limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a loading machine, a conveyer, an inclined apron, an endless chain movable along said apron adapted to gather and discharge material onto said conveyer, gathering arms pivotally mounted on said chain for vertical move- It is thus ap-' ment relative to its plane of travel, and means for positively raising said arms as they approach their upper turning point comprising a cam member extending along said apron adjacent said conveyer, said cam member having a cam surface inclined downwardly towards said conveyer and adapted to be engaged by abutting surfaces of said gathering arms disposed beneath the pivotal axes thereof, and another cam member forming a continuation of said first-mentioned cam mem- 10 ber at the turning point of said arms away from the conveyer, said second-mentioned'cam member being inclined upwardly from said apron in a direction away from said chain and extending around the rearward turning point of said gathering arms, and said second-mentioned cam member being provided with an inner edge adjacent sai'd conveyer disposed at such an angle with respect to said gathering arms as to wipe material from said gathering arms, as said arms approach, said cam member, and deflect said material onto said conveyer.

2. In a loading machine, a conveyer, an inclined apron extending along eachside of said conveyer and beyond the forward end thereof, spaced orbitally guided endless chains movable along said apron having gathering arms pivotally mounted thereon for vertical movement relative to the plane of travel of said chains, and means for positively raising said arms as they approach their 3 upper turning points away from said conveyer comprising cam members on the inner sides of said apron extending along said conveyer, said cam members having cam surfaces inclined downwardly towards said conveyer adapted to be engaged by abutting surfaces of said gathering arms, and other cam members forming continuations of said first-mentioned cam members at the turning point of said arms away from the conveyer, said second-mentioned cam members 0 being inclined upwardly from said apron in a direction away from said chains and extending around the rearward turning point of said gathering arms, and being provided with inner entering edges adjacent said conveyer disposed at such an angle with respect to said gathering arms as to wipe material therefrom, as said arms approach said cam members, and deflect said material onto said conveyer.

3. In a loading machine and in combination with an elevating conveyer, an apron disposed above and extending along said conveyer and having a discharge end extending across the forward end of said conveyer, gathering means disposed above said apron and adapted to gather material from the ground and move it along said apron onto said conveyer, said gathering means including a chain guide mounted on said apron, an endless chain guided for orbital movement thereabout and spaced apart gathering arms projecting laterally from said chain over said conveyer and pivotally mounted on said chain for vertical movement relative to its plane of travel, means for restraining upward movement of said arms as they move downwardly along said apron, and other means for positively raising said arms as they approach their upper turning point away from said conveyer comprising a cam member extending along the inner side of said chain guide and spaced outwardly from the outer side of said conveyer and adapted to be engaged by an inner end of said gathering arm, said cam member having a substantially vertical engaging face beginning at the discharge end of said apron, which turns to an inclined plane surface inclined to- 'saidchainguide.

4. In a loading machine andrin combination .with an elevating conveyer, an apron disposed above and extending; along said conveyer and having a discharge end extending across the forward. end of said conveyer, gathering means disposed, above said apron and adapted to gather material from the ground and move it along said apron. onto said conveyer, said gathering means including a pair of spaced chain guides mounted on said apron and extending along .op-

.posite sides of said conveyer from a point disposed forwardly of the forward end thereof, an orbitally guided endless chain movable about each of. said chain guides and spaced apart gathering arms projecting laterally from said chains and .pivotally mounted thereon for vertical move- .ment relative to the planes of travel of said chains, and; means for positively raising said arms as they approach their upper turning point away from said conveyer comprising a cam member extending along the inner side of each of said chain guides and spaced outwardly from the outersides of said conveyer, said cam members having substantially vertical engaging faces beginning at the discharge end of said apron, which engaging faces gradually turn to inclined plane surfaces inclined towards said conveyer as they extend upwardly along said chain guides.

5. In a loadingmachine and in combination with an elevating conveyor, an apron disposed above and extending along said conveyor and having a discharge end extending across the forward end of said conveyer, gathering means disposed above said apron and adapted to gather material from the ground and move it along said apron onto said conveyor, said gathering means including a chain guide, an endless chain guided for orbital movementthereabout and spaced apart gathering arms projecting laterally from said chain over said conveyer, said gathering arms being pivotally mounted on said chain for vertical movement relative to its plane of travel and-having a depending laterally extending gathering face disposed beneath the pivotal axis thereof and a bottom surface adapted to rest on and move along said apron, means for restraining upward movement of said armsas they move downwardly along said apron, and other means for positively raising said arms as they approach their upper turning point away from said cenveyer comprising a cam member spaced from the outer margins of said conveyer and extending along the inner side of said chain guide, said cam having a substantially vertical engaging face beginning at thedischarge end of said apron which turns toan inclined plane surface inclined towards said conveyer as it extends along said conveyer to permit material on said cam to roll onto said conveyer and said cam being adapted to be engaged by an inner engaging end of said arm which is disposed beneath the pivotal axis of said arm.

6. In a loading machine and in combination with an elevating conveyer, an apron disposed above said conveyer and having a discharge end extending across the forward end thereof, gath- ,ering means on the upper side of said apron adapted to pick up material from the ground and discharge it onto said conveyer including a chain guide, an endless chain guided for orbital movement thereabout and spaced apart gathering arms projecting laterally from said chain over said conveyer and pivotally mounted on said chain for vertical movement relative to its plane of travel, each of said gathering arms having a portion extending upwardly from the pivotal axis thereof to restrain pivotal movement thereof beyond a predetermined point, a depending laterally extending gathering face disposed beneath the pivotal axis thereof and a bottom surface adapted to rest on and move along said apron, means for restraining upward movement of said arms as they move downwardly along said apron, and other means for positively raising said arms as they approach their upper turning point away from said conveyer comprising a cam member mounted on the upper side of said apron and extending along the inner side of said chain guide, said cam member being spaced inwardly from the outer margins of said conveyer and being adapted to be engaged by an inner depending end of said gathering arm in alignment with the gathering face thereof and having an engaging face which is substantially vertical at the discharge end of said apron and which turns to an inclined plane surface inclined towards said conveyer as it extends along said chain guide. '7. In a loading machine and in combination with an elevatingconveyer, an apron disposed above and extending along said conveyer and having a discharge end extending across the forward end of said conveyer, gathering means disposed above said apron and adapted to gather material from the'ground and move it along said apron onto said conveyer, said gathering means including a chain guide mounted on said apron, an endless chain guided for orbital movement thereabout and spaced apart gathering arms projecting laterally from said chain over said conveyer, each of said gathering arms being pivotally mounted on said chain for vertical move ment relative to its plane of travel, means for restraining upward movement of said arms as they move downwardly along said apron, and other means for positively raising said arms as they approach their upper turning point away from said conveyer and holding said gathering arms in such a position as they move around the upper end of said chain guide and thence permitting them to lower to a position parallel with said aproncomprising a cam member extending along the inner side of said chain guide at the edge of said conveyer and turning away from said conveyer around the upper end of said chain guide, said cam member having an engaging face at the discharge end of said apron turning to an inclined plane surface inclined towards said conveyer as it extends along said chain guide and terminating into an inclined plane surface extending upwardly from said chain guide around the rearward end thereof to the outer side of said chain guide to form a trough-like cam engaging the underside of said gathering arms.

FRANK CARTLIDGE. 

